Featuring seven tracks of guitar driven metal laden with double time blasting riffs, some positively S-L-O-W punishing riffs, lots of feed back and the fact these guys just RAWK makes this an enjoyable album worth checking out for those who like their metal with a nice coat of sludge.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Thryce, Doc G., X-Ray Rod

Just in case you've been living in a cave or in complete denial for the past several weeks, here's a quick reminder there's a new Overkill album in stores. And it's something to be excited about since it's one of band's best efforts in many years. Get it while it's hot.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Baz Anderson, Deadsoulman, White Winter Sun, Daniell, BitterCOld, Troy Killjoy, Darkside Momo

Were you sad when Emperor split? Still craving for more black metal in that distinctive Emperor sound? Well here's something you might have missed. Released the same year as "IX Equilibrium", "The Red Jewel" is the album from Charmand Grimloch, Emperor's keyboard player at the time. Not only that, but Emperor's Trym is also sat behind the drum kit here. This Tartaros album sounds almost identical to "IX Equilibrium" with the addition of some crazy, spacey and psychedelic keyboards added for good measure. Top stuff. Get it.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Ag Fox

Dead As Dreams is one of the best USBM albums around. Weakling offers the listener seventy-five minutes of raging Black metal with cutting-edge song writing and epic song structures. It's diverse, heart-wrenching and driven; don't miss out if you ever bump into this hard-to-find gem!

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: BitterCOld, Marcel Hubregtse, Zombie, M.D., jupitreas, White Winter Sun, Troy Killjoy, X-Ray Rod, Ag Fox

Monolith is easily among the most awesome releases I've heard all year. This addictive and hauntingly beautiful album is every reason why In Mourning are/should be top of the class.
Follow the review link for more shameless self-promotion.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Deadsoulman, White Winter Sun, Nefarious, BloodTears, Ag Fox, Darkside Momo

This is a Brazilian album/band that will have probably slipped by a lot of people. Released in the second half of the last decade, "Believe" is an album of super cheesy power metal that has some really catchy moments. For a little-known band, this is a top class album.

Staff pick by:

Hailing from the legendary underground scene of Nokia, Finland, is Convulse. World Without God is their masterpiece, a spaced-out piece of old school Death metal. Now re-released by Relapse Records with the Resuscitation Of Evilness! If you're a fan of old school Death metal or of cult spaced-out extreme music, don't miss out!

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Bas, Marcel Hubregtse, ylside, Troy Killjoy, X-Ray Rod

Although the songwriting can be at times patchy, this is still the best album in recent memory for the sound fetishists amongst us. A meditation on the pure sonic impact and bliss that comes from listening to a distortion guitar, Cutthroat Melodies, when played on a good sound system, will definitely remind us why we got into metal in the first place.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Ag Fox

Holy Terror are a second-wave thrash band that put out a couple albums in the 80's, then disappeared. Terror And Submission was recently re-issued (again) along with Mind Wars, making it obtainable for those of us who still buy disks.

What they lacked in finesse they made up for in droves with boundless, raw kinetic energy, enthusiasm, and the fantastic vocals of Keith Deen.

"T&S" is recommended for fans of raw 80's thrash metal.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, Thryce, White Winter Sun, wormdrink414

In case you haven't heard the news, one of the best Thrash albums of 2010 has already been released. Don't make me say I told you so, but this album is totally awesome. And act surprised when they win a Metal Storm Award, okay?

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Baz Anderson, Marcel Hubregtse, White Winter Sun, BitterCOld, Darkside Momo

Urna combines Esoteric-esque hellfire with glacial sorrow. Iter Ad Lucem ("Path towards the light") thrives on it's wonderfully sorrowful, lucid and opaque guitar tone. Soaring melodies are deeply buried, although still very audible. Iter Ad Lucem will tear your soul apart with it's translucent honesty, a jewel to remember.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, Götter, Troy Killjoy, X-Ray Rod

This is the continuation of Celtic Frost. In the similar style of "Monotheist", this album is essentially Celtic Frost with a different rhythm section. Dark, gloomy, reflective, yet also at a slightly more exciting pace than Tom Warrior's last output. This is as heavy as they come. A top quality release from the mind behind the frontman of one of the most influential extreme metal bands in history.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Thryce, X-Ray Rod

This week-end I'll be seeing Life Of Agony play their entire River Runs Red album live (needless to say I'm psyched). The perfect occasion for the both of us to dust off this old record. A real classic - they don't make them like that anymore.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, Deadsoulman, Promonex, Jason W., White Winter Sun, ylside, jupitreas, X-Ray Rod, Ag Fox

Corrupted is one of the most intriguing bands I've ever come across. Their discography is impressive and filled with little and big gems. Of the full-lengths, Se Hace Por Los Suenos Asesinos is their most accesible, but that does not mean it's a sellout's attempt at easy cash. "Gekkou No Daichi" is a seventeen minutes soothing acoustic piece, with Hevi's majestic spoken word. "Rato Triste" and "Sus Futuros" are two insanely heavy sludge-numbers, with killer riffs and immensily brutal vocals. If you and Se Hace... manage to click, there's a world of beauty and brutality waiting to be explored by you.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, X-Ray Rod

The album opens reminding the listener "the outer body is a stinking cadaver, because it still lives in poison", and goes downhill from there. Glaciers advance faster than the songs on this album. Empty, reverberating drums, painfully slow guitar melodies, somewhat buried vocals, wrapped in a Yanni-paced organ? these guys sure put the "Fun" in "Funeral!"

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, Troy Killjoy